The Porsche Carrera Cup GB will reach the mid-point of the season at Croft next weekend (19/20 June) when rounds nine and ten are held at the challenging North Yorkshire track. A fabulous field of 27 cars is due to contest the weekend.

Tim Harvey is currently riding high in the Carrera Cup GB, with seven wins from eight races and a useful 32-point lead in the title race. But as the teams head for Croft, Tim knows well enough that it could all turn around with one bad day at the office.

The 2010 season is proving to be the best yet for the Carrera Cup GB, with record grids and superb racing across all three categories. While Harvey tops the overall title race, Ollie Jackson heads pro-am1 and Mark Hazell leads pro-am2 as the Croft races mark the start of a seven-week mid-season break.

Harvey, who spearheads the six-car squad from Cleveland-based Red Line Racing, is having a fabulous season. The former BTCC champion, and Carrera Cup champion in 2008, has been the benchmark at every event and only a victory for Michael Caine at Brands Hatch has stopped a clean sweep of wins for Harvey.

In truth, allowing Harvey to take a 32-point lead after eight of the 20 races has left the rest of the pack with a mountain to climb if they are to peg him back. Tim makes few, if any, mistakes and has an uncanny knack of finishing races. He'll soon score his 100th Carrera Cup podium.

But with 44 points on offer every weekend, this contest is far from over and Caine is the man most likely to upset the party for his old rival. Last time out at Oulton Park was a bad day for Caine when contact at the first corner pitched him out of the opening race. He now really needs a non-finish for Harvey to redress the balance.

But this is not just about the two seasoned campaigners and there is every reason to expect at least three other drivers to feature strongly at the head of the action at Croft. The charging trio from Team Parker Racing of Glynn Geddie, Euan Hankey and Stephen Jelley are getting closer and closer to the pace of Harvey and Caine with every race and all of them are potential race winners.

Other strong runners in the pro category include Charles Bateman, Tom Bradshaw and Michael Meadows. Like Hankey, Meadows is one of the 2010 Carrera Cup Scholarship winners and they will both contest the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race supporting the British Grand Prix at Silverstone next month as part of their award.

But the competition is not just about the overall rankings. In pro-am1, Jackson is making the running but the increasingly impressive Jonas Gelzinis from Lithuania is getting closer and closer. Every track in the UK is new to Jonas and he will learn Croft during Friday's test sessions, but he showed that he is a quick learner by taking a double win last time out at Oulton Park.

Other leading pro-am1 contenders include Tony Gilham, Ahmad Al Harthy and Archie Hamilton, with Al Harthy and Hamilton showing excellent pace as they build experience during their first seasons out of single-seaters.

Carrera Cup qualifying is on Saturday at 14.35, with the first race at 12.45 on Sunday and the second race at 16.25. Both races are due to be shown live on ITV4 in the extensive BTCC race day programme, which starts at 11.30am._________________>Competitive Porsche Insurance <

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Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 10:36 pm Post subject:

Harvey and Hankey top Carrera Cup qualifying at Croft

Tim Harvey takes pole position for round nine
Euan Hankey takes his first pole position for round ten
Jonas Gelzinis and Ollie Jackson top pro-am1
George Richardson and George Brewster head pro-am2
Superb 26-car grid

Tim Harvey and Euan Hankey shared the glory in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB during qualifying at Croft today (Saturday 19 June) ahead of rounds nine and ten of the championship.

Harvey (Red Line Racing) set the pace for round nine, but Carrera Cup Scholarship racer Hankey (Team Parker Racing) bagged his first pole in the championship for round ten, which will be the 150th race in the history of the Carrera Cup GB.

In pro-am1 Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) and Ollie Jackson (Addison Lee Motorbase) shared the leading times in the category, while George Richardson (Motorbase Performance) and George Brewster (Celtic Speed) set the pro-am2 pace, with Richardson claiming his first category pole position.

Harvey made the best use of strange track conditions to claim pole for round nine with a best lap of 1m22.191s on his first quick lap of the session. "It could have been a massive amount better," he said after a big slide at the Hairpin. Despite that moment, Harvey was just under a tenth of a second faster than Hankey.

However, on second best times, Hankey was ahead by 22-thousandths to claim pole for the weekend's second race. "The track just got slower through the session," said Harvey. "The car was great; I probably should have got two poles," he added.

Hankey was elated to claim his first Porsche pole as well as the first pole position for a Carrera Cup Scholarship driver. "I'm absolutely over the moon, but it was a weird session and you had to do your lap straight away." Stephen Jelley (Team Parker Racing) and Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance) were third and fourth for round nine and then reversed places for round ten as Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) posted fifth best time for both races.

In pro-am1, Gelzinis set the pace for the first grid as he really came to terms with the Croft track to make it four poles from six races, while Jackson edged ahead of his championship rival on the second grid. "Traffic, traffic, traffic," said Jackson of his session, after setting his best time on his tenth lap on a new set of tyres. Behind Gelzinis and Jackson in pro-am1 was the evenly matched trio of Tony Gilham (Collins ReDesign Racing) and Red Line Racing's Ahmad Al Harthy and Archie Hamilton.

There was a shake up in pro-am2 as Richardson and Brewster took first and second for round nine and then reversed places for round ten. "That's my first pole in the Carrera Cup," said Richardson. "I was just concentrating on being smooth and it's all good learning." Meanwhile, Brewster was equally pleased with the times. "You do have to be committed round here; I'm very pleased with that," he said. In both cases, the gap was no more than a tenth of a second. Paul Mace (GT Marques) and Mark Hazell (JHR) claimed third and fourth places for each race._________________>Competitive Porsche Insurance <

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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 2:31 pm Post subject:

Harvey takes Carrera Cup round nine at Croft

Tim Harvey takes record 32nd victory in round nine
Jonas Gelzinis wins pro-am1
George Brewster takes first pro-am2 win of 2010
Stephen Jelley takes best result to date with second
Harvey extends championship lead to 36 points

Tim Harvey became the most successful driver in the history of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB when he scored his eighth win of the season and his 32nd career win at Croft today (Sunday 20 June) in round nine of the championship.

While Harvey (Red Line Racing) led from the start to take a resounding victory, Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) took a hard fought pro-am1 victory and George Brewster (Celtic Speed) emerged to win pro-am2 for the first time this season.

"It was all done at the start," said Harvey. "It's always crucial here as the first corner is so tight." While Harvey went immediately clear, second on the grid Euan Hankey (Team Parker Racing) was squeezed wide at Clervaux and dropped to fourth as his team mate Stephen Jelley and Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance) dived ahead. That set the tone for the race as Caine shadowed Jelley for lap after lap, but was never able to make a move on the former BTCC racer.

"The track was so dirty off line," said Caine of his problem in trying to pass Jelley. "If you went off line it took four corners to clean the tyres up." Ahead, Harvey was able to control the race and take a nicely measured victory. "Stephen was under pressure all race from Michael and I was just concentrating on tyre management," said Harvey.

Jelley, meanwhile, had his best Carrera Cup finish so far with second place. "We're getting closer," said Jelley. "As long as I drove the slow stuff well I was going to be okay, but it was a tough race," said Jelley. Close to Jelley and Caine at the finish in fourth was Hankey.

Fifth place was the subject of a mighty battle as well as the contest for pro-am1 victory. Initially, Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) fended off Gelzinis, Ollie Jackson (Addison Lee Motorbase) and Charlie Bateman (Motorbase Performance), but then Gelzinis got briefly ahead of Geddie. The places soon changed back again and it was not until lap 11 that Gelzinis made his move on Geddie permanent.

While the Lithuanian racer moved clear, Jackson set about finding a way around Geddie in order to chase after his pro-am1 rival. Into Tower with three laps to go, Jackson dived ahead and was able to close the gap to Gelzinis to three quarters of a second at the flag, while Bateman pushed Geddie back to eighth on the last lap.

"It was a big fight with Geddie," said Gelzinis. "But I didn't push too hard at the beginning and was able to save my tyres for the end of the race." Jackson was almost close enough to challenge after a strong drive. "It was a really good race and I think we had the pace," said Jackson.
In pro-am2, there was heartbreak for George Richardson (Motorbase Performance) when a superb drive took him into a clear category lead and 11th overall.

Cruelly, a water pump issue ended his race at half-distance. "I made the best start I've ever had and just kept my nose clean. It was in the bag," said the disappointed Cheshire teenager after his best Carrera Cup race so far.

Instead, victory went to George Brewster (Celtic Speed) after a gritty performance. He had to battle ahead of pro-am1 racer Liam Griffin (Addison Lee Motorbase) and then survived a brush with Alex Martin (GT Marques) at the Hairpin on his way to victory. "It was very hard work," said Brewster, who won at Croft in 2009. "I had a scare when Alex broadsided me and I had a couple of scares on the dropped coolant," he said. Paul Mace (GT Marques) battled long and hard behind Griffin on his way to second in pro-am2._________________>Competitive Porsche Insurance <

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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 9:49 pm Post subject:

Harvey wins Carrera Cup round ten at Croft

Tim Harvey makes it nine wins from ten races
Ollie Jackson wins pro-am1 thriller
Great battles all down the field

Tim Harvey completed a marvelous day at Croft today (Sunday 20 June) in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB when he made it nine wins from ten races and built his championship lead to 39 points. In a race full of fierce battling, Ollie Jackson won pro-am1 and Glenn McMenamin won pro-am2.

In front of a packed Croft crowd and live on ITV4, Harvey (Red Line Racing) once again made the start the decisive moment of the race as he out-dragged polesitter Euan Hankey (Team Parker Racing) on the rush to the first corner.

However, Harvey was not able to pull away as Hankey mounted a dogged pursuit as he fended off Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance) and Stephen Jelley (Team Parker Racing).

In the early laps, there was little to chose between the leading trio, but as Caine launched his challenge on Hankey, Harvey got his chance to edge clear. Finally, on lap 12 Caine dived inside Hankey at Hawthorns and as they both oversteered through the corner, Caine came out ahead.

However, their battle had made life easier for Harvey, who was nearly four seconds clear at the flag. "That was a bit harder and Euan was close at the start," said Harvey. "But I looked after my tyres at the start and I couldn't fault the car."

Caine clinched second, but was frustrated to see Harvey extend his championship lead. "Qualifying cost us," admitted Caine. "We had pretty much the same pace as Tim in the race." Hankey completed the podium, but team mate Jelley was right behind to complete a good weekend.

Jackson had to race very hard to claim both fifth overall and first in pro-am1, running many laps in a mighty contest with Michael Meadows (Red Line Racing), Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) and Charlie Bateman (Motorbase Performance).

However, at the hairpin on lap 10 Meadows pushed Bateman wide onto the grass and Meadows dropped to the tail of the field. Meanwhile, Tom Bradshaw (JHR) dived ahead of them both in a fantastic drive from the very back of the grid to seventh at the finish.

Once Gelzinis got clear of the battle he was able to close the gap to Jackson, and only half a second split them at the finish. "Jonas had a lot more pace than me at the finish," said Jackson after a hard-earned victory.

Third in pro-am1 went to Tony Gilham (Collins ReDesign Racing) who battled against budget restrictions to claim another podium finish and take the 'driver of the weekend' award, as the Collins ReDesign Racing squad earned the 'team of the weekend' award._________________>Competitive Porsche Insurance <

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AndySBarcelona

Joined: 25 Mar 2010Posts: 1361Location: The fast lane

Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 8:36 pm Post subject:

I was there - great weather, great racing, and Tim Harvey was fantastic.

I noticed that the Porches were 3 seconds a lap quicker than the touring cars, and the formula Renault's were a full 7 seconds a lap quicker !
....but the crowds seemed more interested in the touring cars.
It was the same at Oulton Park 2 weeks ago. The second Porsche race was the last race of the day, and most of the crowds left as soon as the last touring car race ended.

At the next round, I really must take my camera and get some pictures in the assembly area before the race, or in Parc Ferme after the race....._________________Andy
1996 Polar Silver 993 Coupe - AKA 'the money pit'
A Class AMG & Golf TDi for the daily

Croft is such a good track. I really enjoy driving it and so does Tim Harvey by the looks of it. Congrats to him. _________________I see dead pixels.

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